Nest and stack containers

ABSTRACT

The disclosure is of a container adapted either to nest or to stack with other containers of the same construction. Each of two opposite sidewalls has means providing a seat spaced above the bottom wall, and also has a side panel provided with a foot. The seats of the container are adapted to support the feet of an upper container of identical construction in stacked relation when the panels are vertical. The panels can be moved to a different position such that the feet clear the seats of a lower container for nesting.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Elsmer W. Kreeger 56] ReferencesCited Orchard Lake UNITED STATES PATENTS 322 sanders bmh 3,275,1889/1966 Wilson 220/97(E) pp NO. 820,]04 3,351,229 11/1967 Brldenstine220/97(E) [22] Filed Apr. 29, 1969 Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance[45] Patented June 1, 1971 Attorney-whittemore, Hulbert 8L Belknap [73]Assignec Pinckney Molded Plastics, Inc.

Pinckney, Mich.

[541 NEST AND STACK CONTAINERS 12 Claims, 10 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 220/97, 211/126 [51] Int. Cl 865d 21/04, 865d 21/06, A47f3/14 [50] Field of Search 220/97 (D), 97 (E);2l1/126 ABSTRACT: Thedisclosure is of a container adapted either to nest or to stack withother containers of the same construction. Each of two oppositesidewalls has means providing a seat spaced above the bottom wall, andalso has a side panel provided with a foot. The seats of the containerare adapted to support the feet of an upper container of identicalconstruction in stacked relation when the panels are vertical. The

panels can be moved to a different position such that the feet clear theseats of a lower container for nesting.

*Zs 38 g 30 I PATENTED JUN Han 3581, 932

sum '1 OF 3 INVENTORS ELLSWORTH E. SANDERS ELSMER W. KREEGER ATTORNEYSPATENTED JUN 1 |97| SHEET 8 OF 3 INVENTORS ELLSWORTH E. SANDERS ELSMERW. KREEGER ATTORNEYS PATENTED JUH 1 I97! 45 42 65 INVENTORS ELLSWORTH E.SANDERS ELSMER W. KREEGER ATTORNEYS NEST AND STACK CONTAINERS SUMMARY OFTHE INVENTION It is an essential object of this invention to provide animproved container capable of either nesting or stacking with othercontainers of identical construction.

Another object is to provide a nesting and stacking container havingsupporting elements adapted to be shifted from one position for stackingto another position for nesting.

Another object is to provide a nesting and stacking container havingsidewalls including means providing seats spaced above the bottom wallfor supporting the feet on the sidewalls of an upper container ofidentical construction in stacked relation, and in which the feet aremovable to a different position clearing the seats for nesting.

Another object is to provide a nesting and stacking container in whichthe supporting feet are formed on sidewall panels which are movablebetween nesting and stacking positions.

Another object is to provide a nesting and stacking container whereinthe side panels upon which the feet are formed are swingable laterallyinwardly so that the feet thereof clear the seats ofa lower containerfor nesting.

Another object is to provide a nesting and stacking container in whichthe side panels are vertical when stacked, for maximum strength.

Another object is to provide container seats which are preferably in theform of elongated upstanding ridges and container feet whicharepreferably in the form of elongated grooves adapted to receive theridges during stacking.

Another object is to provide a container having means for guiding thesame laterally across a lower container to a stacked position, withmeans for then locating the upper container in a position directly abovethe lower container upon which it is stacked.

Another object is to provide releasable means for locking the sidepanels in vertical positionsfor stacking.

Another object is to provide a nesting and stacking container which maybe embodied in-a two-wall, three-wall or four-wall construction, asdesired.

Other objects and features of the invention'will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a-container constructed'in accordancewith our invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, with parts brokenaway, of the container shownin FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the container, with parts brokenaway and in section, and showing fragmentarily a second container nestedtherewith.

FIG. '4 is a fragmentary sectionalview'taken on the line4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view, withparts brokenaway, taken along the line5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG.3.

FIG. 7- is a fragmentary side elevational view showing three containers,the middle container being nested with the lower container andthe uppercontainer being stacked upon the middle container.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line. 8-8 of FIG. 7.1

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 3.I

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a modified container.

A three-walled container is shown in FIGS. l-'9. The container comprisesa flat, horizontal, rectangular bottom-wall 10, twosidewalls l2.and I4along opposite side edges of and projectingupwardly from the bottomwall, and one end wall'l6 projecting upwardly from one end edge of thebottom wall. The opposite end of the container is substantially open,except fora relatively low vertical flange 18 which extends upwardly ashort distance from the' bottom wall and is provided to prevent articlessupported upon the bottom wall sliding from the open end of thecontainer. The container shown in FIGS. 1-9 may be considered as more inthe nature of a tray because of its low side and end walls, in contrastto the deeper construction of the four-walled container shown in FIG.I0.

The bottom wall may be imperforate, if desired, but for reasons ofeconomy of material and lightness and strength, it is preferably of theopen grid construction best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. The open gridconstruction also is easier to clean.

The sidewall 12 is a mirror image of the sidewall 14 and therefore onlyone sidewall will be described. The same reference characters will,however, be applied to both sidewalls. Sidewall I2 has a vertical rigidstructure or frame 20 of the inverted U-shaped configuration shown andincludes the straight horizontal rail 22 which extends above andparallel to the plane of the bottom wall 10, and the downwardlydiverging end members 24 and 26 which are integrally joined to thebottom wall 10 of the container at their lower ends. The rail 22 and endmembers 24 and 26 making up the frame 20 are disposed in a commonvertical plane. An upstanding ridge 28 extends along and projectsupwardly from the rail 22 for slightly less than the full length of therail. The opposite ends of ridge 28 are spaced equal distances from theadjacent ends of the container so that the ridges are centrally locatedwith respect to the container longitudinally thereof (See FIG. 3).

The sidewall 12 also includes a panel 30 which is hinged to and dependsfrom the rail 22 of the frame 20. This panel 30, although openings areblanked out to reduce the weight of the container, substantially fillsthe open space outlined by the U- s'haped frame20 to complete thesidewall structure.

Referring to FIGS. 3-6 and 8, it will be noted that the rail 22 has anarcuate hinge socket 32 in its underside which extends throughoutsubstantially its entire length. An enlarged head 34 of like arcuateform extending along the upperedge of the panel 30 may be snapped intosocket 32. Thus the panel 30 is hinged for swinging movement from avertical position for stacking to an inwardly displaced positionsuitable for nesting (see FIG. 8). The rail 22 has the depending innerand outer flanges 36 and 38 extending downward from the socket-32 alongthe inner and outer sides of the panel 30 which are suitably flared soas not to interfere with the swinging motion of the panel between itstwo positions.

The panel 30 has an integral substantially right-angle flange 40extendinglaterally inwardly from its lower edge along its full length,the panel and flange together having the L-shaped configuration shown.As seen in FIG. 4, the adjacent side edge of the bottom wall has aslightly downwardly displaced marginal portion 42 which supports theinner extremity 44 of flange 40 when the panel 30 is in its verticalposition for stacking. The slightdownward displacement of the marginalportion 42 of the bottomwall causes the top surface of flange 40 to bedisposed substantially in thehorizontal plane of the .top surface of thecentral open grid portion of the bottomwall as clearly shown in FIG. 4.

'position by integral hooks 46 along the inner edges of the flanges 40of the panels. In the present instance, two such hooks .46 are providedwhich are turned downwardly and return bent as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8and are adapted to engage the marginal portion 42 of the bottomwall. Thebottom wall is cut out as indicated at.48 so that the hook 46 mayengagewithin the opening thus provided in the bottom wall and engage the inneredge of the marginal portion 42.

The panel 30- is formed with an elongated downwardly opening groove 50along its lower edge which extends for a distance equal to or slightlygreater than the length of the ridge 28 and of a size adapted to receivethe ridge of a second container of identical construction for stackingpurposes.

A spring in the form of'an elongated wire 52 is provided for normallyurging the panel 30 laterally outward to its .vertical position forstacking. As seen in FIGS. 4-6, one end portion 54 of the wire isembedded in the panel 30 or it may simply bear against the inner surfaceof panel 30, and the remaining portions 56 and 58 of the wire arereceived in a tunnel or channel 60 in the frame 20, the portion of thechannel in rail 22 which receives the portion 56 of the wire being inopen communication with the arcuate hinge socket 32.

The panel is provided with means for releasably locking it in itsvertical position. Such means in the present instance comprises a tab 62which is cut from the material of the flange 40 centrally thereof alongthree sides so that it may swing upwardly about the integral side 63 asa hinge from the normal position shown in FIG. 4 to the dotted lineposition. In this position, the flange 64 along the inner edge of thetab engages the marginal portion 42 of the bottom wall to prevent inwardswinging of panel 30. Thus the panel 30 is normally held in its verticalposition by tab 62, but manual upward pressure upon the tab will elevateflange 64 sufficiently to clear the marginal portion 42 and permitinward swinging of the panel 30 for nesting.

The bottom wall is provided with corner tabs 65 which project under theopposite ends of flange 40 of the panel. These tabs 65 together with themarginal portion 42 of the bottom wall which supports the inner edge offlange 40 throughout substantially its full length provide the supportneeded to sustain the weight of articles carried by the container whenthe panel 30 is in its vertical position.

The bottoms of the members 24 and 26 of frame have depending guide ribs68. These are arranged in pairs two at one end of the container and twoat the other end of the container and each pair is spaced apart adistance greater than the distance between the upstanding ridges 28 toguide an upper container moving across a lower container by engagementof the guide ribs with the ridges 28 to a stacked position.

The lower ends of the members 26 of the frames 20 have upwardly facingthe support surfaces 70. These support surfaces support the guide ribs68 on the bottoms of the end members 26 when two containers are nestedas indicated by the lower two containers in FIG. 7.

The end wall 16 is inclined upwardly and outwardly as shown so that theend walls 16 of two similarly oriented containers will nest as shown inFIG. 3. The sidewall structure of the container adjacent end wall 16 hasthe two generally vertical surfaces 72 and 74 separated by an upwardlyfacing shoulder 76. When two similarly oriented containers are nested asin FIG. I, the guide ribs 68 on the bottoms of end members 24 of frames20 engage shoulders 76 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9.

When the side panels 30 are in their normal vertical positions thecontainer is in condition for loading and any material desired may besupported and carried by the container such as bread loaves for example.The bottom wall is completed by the horizontal flanges 40 of the sidepanels 30 to provide a complete and strong supporting surface for thecontents of the container. In this vertical position of the side panels,the loaded containers may also be stacked upon one another in the mannerillustrated by the upper two containers in FIG. 7 so that the contentsof the individual containers will not be crushed. In the stackedrelation of the containers shown in FIGS. 7-9, the grooves 50 in thepanels 30 will receive the ridges 28 along the horizontal rails 22 ofthe side frames 20, the ends of the grooves engaging the ends of theridges to provide stops preventing relative longitudinal movementbetween the two stacked containers. The ridges 28 thus serve as set asfor the containers stacked thereon and the grooves 50 are in the natureof supporting feet for the upper or stacked container.

While two stacked containers may as shown in FIGS. 7-9 be similarlyoriented, it is quite obvious that the upper container may be reverselyoriented with respect to the lower container since the supporting seatsor ridges 28 of the lower container will engage and be received ineither one of the grooves or feet 50 of the container stacked thereon.

When it is desired to nest the containers, as when the containers arereturned empty for example, the tabs 62 may be pushed upwards by fingerpressure and the side panels 30 pressed inwardly to the position shownin FIG. 8 such that the feet or grooves 50 will clear the seats orridges 28 of a lower container so that when the upper container islowered it will nest with the lower container as clearly seen in FIGS. 3and 7, with guide ribs 68 resting upon supporting surfaces 70 andshoulders 76.

At this point it should be pointed out that the containers will nestwhether similarly or reversely oriented. This is for the reason that thesupporting shoulders 76 are at the same elevation and spaced apart thesame as the supporting surfaces 70 at the opposite end of the container.As seen in FIG. 2, these shoulders 76 and surfaces 70 have the samerelative positions with respect to one another at the opposite ends ofthe container, and therefore will support either pair of guide ribs 68at the ends of an upper container, no matter whether it is similarly orreversely oriented.

While FIGS. l9 illustrate a three-walled container, it should be clearthat the open end of the container could be closed by a wall such as thewall 16 to provide a four-walled container which would nest or stack asalready described in either a reversely oriented or similarly orientedrelationship. The container may be of any suitable material such, forexample, as polyethylene, and in the present instance the two sidepanels 30 are separate integral members. The rest of the containerincluding the bottom wall 10, side frames 20 and end wall 16 is ofintegral construction.

FIG. 10 illustrates a four-walled container which is deeper than thecontainer shown in FIGS. l9. The container in FIG. 10 has a bottom 102,sidewalls 104 and 106 and end walls 108 and 110. The bottom wall isrectangular and the sidewalls 104 and 106 are stepped instead ofupwardly inclined having the vertical bottom, middle and top wallportions 112, 114 and 116 of substantially equal height each spacedoutwardly a slight distance from the one beneath it to permit nesting oftwo identical containers whether similarly oriented or reversed end forend. Of course, when nested, the bottom wall portion of the uppercontainer will rest upon the step between the bottom and middle wallportions of the lower container, and the middle wall portion of theupper container will be disposed inwardly of and on a level with the topwall portion of the lower container.

The end walls 108 and have fixed upper vertical wall portions 120 whichare integrally connected to the ends of the upper wall portions 116 ofthe sidewalls. Wall portions 120 are provided with elongated seatingridges 122 which project upwardly for substantially the full length ofthe end wall portions 120. The end walls also include the end panelswhich are similar to the panels 30 described in the first embodiment inthat they normally assume vertical positions for stacking but may beswung inwardly for nesting. The upper edges of the panels 130 are hingedto the lower edges of end wall portions 120. The lower edges of thepanels 130 have seats preferably in the form of elongated grooves 131adapted to receive the seating ridges 122 when two containers arestacked. When the end panels 130 are vertical, the inner surfaces of theentire end walls have the same stepped configura..on as the sidewallsfor proper nesting. Containers constructed as in FIG. 10 can obviouslynest and stack whether similarly or reversely oriented.

This container is of integral one-piece construction except for the endpanels 130 which are formed separately, and, as with the container inFIGS. 19, may be formed of any suitable material, such as polyethylene.

What we claim as our invention is:

l. A nesting and stacking container comprising a rectangular bottomwall, two sidewalls along opposite side edges of and projecting upwardlyfrom said bottom wall, each sidewall having a rail providing a seatspaced above said bottom wall, each sidewall also having a panel hingedto and depending from said rail provided with a foot, the seats of saidcontainer being adapted to support the feet of an upper container ofidentical construction in stacked relation thereon in one position ofthe panels of the upper container, the panels of said container beingswingable inwardly to a different position such that the feet thereofclear the seats of a lower container of identical construction whenlowered with respect thereto into a nested relation therewith, saidbottom wall having means providing panel stops, and said panels havinghooks engageable with said panel stops to limit outward swinging of saidpanels to substantially upright positions for stacking.

2. The container defined in claim 1, including spring means urging saidpanels to their substantially upright positions for stacking.

3. The container defined in claim 2, wherein releasable means areprovided to prevent inward swinging of said panels from theirsubstantially upright positions.

4. The container defined in claim 3, wherein said releasable meanscomprise stops on said bottom wall and tabs on said panels, said tabsbeing manually movable to positions clearing said last-mentioned stops.

5. The container defined in claim 2, wherein said seats are in the formof elongated upstanding ridges extending parallel to one another, saidfeet are in the form of elongated grooves adapted to receive the ridgesof a lower container of identical construction, said grooves having endstops engageable with the ends of the ridges of a lower containerstacked therewith to locate the two stacked containers one substantiallydirectly above the other.

6. The container defined in claim 2, said container having twoadditional sidewalls along the remaining opposite side edges of saidbottom wall.

7. The container defined in claim 2, said container having an additionalsidewall along one only of the two remaining side edges of said bottomwall, the side of said container along the other of the said tworemaining side edges of said bottom wall being open.

8. A nesting and stacking container comprising a rectangular bottomwall, two sidewalls along opposite side edges of and projecting upwardlyfrom said bottom wall, each sidewall having a member which provides aseat and which is fixed with respect to and spaced above said bottomwall, each sidewall also having a panel hinged to and depending fromsaid member and provided with a foot, each panel being swingableinwardly from a substantially vertical position for stacking to aninclined position for nesting, the seats of said container being adaptedto support the feet of an upper container of identical construction instacked relation thereon in the substantially vertical position of thepanels of the upper container, the feet of said panels of saidcontainer, when said panels are swung inwardly to their inclinedpositions, clearing the seats of a lower container of identicalconstruction when said container is lowered with respect thereto into anested relation therewith.

9. The container defined in claim 8, including means providing panelstops fixed with respect to said bottom wall, said panels have abutmentmeans engageable with said stops to limit outward swinging of saidpanels to their substantially vertical positions.

10. The container defined in claim 8, including spring means urging saidpanels to their substantially vertical positions.

11. The container defined in claim 8, including releasable means forpreventing inward swinging of said panels from their substantiallyvertical positions.

12. The container defined in claim 8, wherein said seats are in the formof elongated, upstanding, parallel ridges, and said feet are in the formof elongated, downwardly opening, parallel grooves.

1. A nesting and stacking container comprising a rectangular bottomwall, two sidewalls along opposite side edges of and projecting upwardlyfrom said bottom wall, each sidewall having a rail providing a seatspaced above said bottom wall, each sidewall also having a panel hingedto and depending from said rail provided with a foot, the seats of saidcontainer being adapted to support the feet of an upper container ofidentical construction in stacked relation thereon in one position ofthe panels of the upper container, the panels of said container beingswingable inwardly to a different position such that the feet thereofclear the seats of a lower container of identical construction whenlowered with respect thereto into a nested relation therewith, saidbottom wall having means providing panel stops, and said panels havinghooks engageable with said panel stops to limit outward swinging of saidpanels to substantially upright positions for stacking.
 2. The containerdefined in claim 1, including spring means urging said panels to theirsubstantially upright positions for stacking.
 3. The container definedin claim 2, wherein releasable means are provided to prevent inwardswinging of said panels from their substantially upright positions. 4.The container defined in claim 3, wherein said releasable means comprisestops on said bottom wall and tabs on said panels, said tabs beingmanually movable to positions clearing said last-mentioned stops.
 5. Thecontainer defined in claim 2, wherein said seats are in the form ofelongated upstanding ridges extending parallel to one another, said feetare in the form of elongated grooves adapted to receive the ridges of alower container of identical construction, said grooves having end stopsengageable with the ends of the ridges of a lower container stackedtherewith to locate the two stacked containers one substantiallydirectly above the other.
 6. The container defined in claim 2, saidcontainer having two additional sidewalls along the remaining oppositeside edges of said bottom wall.
 7. The container defined in claim 2,said container having an additional sidewall along one only of the tworemaining side edges of said bottom wall, the side of said containeralong the other of the said two remaining side edges of said bottom wallbeing open.
 8. A nesting and stacking container comprising a rectangularbottom wall, two sidewalls along opposite side edges of and projectingupwardly from said bottom wall, each sidewall having a member whichprovides a seat and which is fixed with respect to and spaced above saidbottom wall, each sidewall also having a panel hinged to and dependingfrom said member and provided with a foot, each panel being swingableinwardly from a substantially vertical position for stacking to aninclined position for nesting, the seats of said conTainer being adaptedto support the feet of an upper container of identical construction instacked relation thereon in the substantially vertical position of thepanels of the upper container, the feet of said panels of saidcontainer, when said panels are swung inwardly to their inclinedpositions, clearing the seats of a lower container of identicalconstruction when said container is lowered with respect thereto into anested relation therewith.
 9. The container defined in claim 8,including means providing panel stops fixed with respect to said bottomwall, said panels have abutment means engageable with said stops tolimit outward swinging of said panels to their substantially verticalpositions.
 10. The container defined in claim 8, including spring meansurging said panels to their substantially vertical positions.
 11. Thecontainer defined in claim 8, including releasable means for preventinginward swinging of said panels from their substantially verticalpositions.
 12. The container defined in claim 8, wherein said seats arein the form of elongated, upstanding, parallel ridges, and said feet arein the form of elongated, downwardly opening, parallel grooves.